so lets figure this out,
i get a hardon for numbers.
so lets price this out.
1x 50$
shelf 4' x 2' x 6'
8x 20$
T8 fixture
2x 34$
10pack of t8 bulbs
you don't need heat mats as light fixtures generate heat and keep it toasty
total 278$ start up cost
16x 1.50$ 1020 tray
16x 1.50$
1801 deep insert
so add about 100$ for electricity and 20$ for water and 20$ for soil 20$ for ferts
208$ recurring cost (lower if you reuse some of the trays / inserts)
seeds prices are pretty crazy but we can say something like 20cents a seed max
265$ recurring cost MAX (probably much lower if you traded for seed, or got some bulk)
t8 bulb have life of 10k hours so you can run approximately 5 years...
(265 + (278/5))/288
soooo
1.11 per plant, much cheaper than any nursery / box store if you can be bothered to do the work yourself.
things not accounted for: risk in general, germination percent, time spent locating good seed, ridiculous prices people sell some hybrids for aka 10 seeds for 6+ dollars.